When I was serving as usher in a Christian Science branch church, the words of the title came to me when I began to take the collection one Sunday. Those words were said in Old Testament times by King David to all the people who gathered together to express their gratitude to God by giving contributions for the construction of the temple at Jerusalem. "For all things come of thee," David said, "and of thine own have we given thee." I Chron. 29:14.
Tithing, or contributing, expresses a conscious recognition of God's blessings. And we have the privilege and the benefits of tithing numerous times each day. This doesn't mean monetary contributions necessarily, but it involves giving to others, to the world, in spiritual ways.
Man, as God's own child, reflects God; he is the outcome of Spirit. Because of this, man's substance, his intelligence, his true motives, are the reflection of his creator. Nothing, then, is actually ours. "Of thine own [God's]" qualities, attributes, thoughts, and so forth, we give—by reflection. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," Matt. 5:16. said Christ Jesus.
